It was more than 40 years ago that 10cc made their first appearance in the UK charts, but the band are still in demand around the world today.

Donna took them to number two in 1972 and they soon became known for their sophisticated inventive sound.

Fifteen million UK album sales later, the band are preparing to embark on a nationwide tour.

10cc co-founder Graham Gouldman is fronting the band who have been together in their current form for 10 years.

“I always think it’s the songs that are the things people come to listen to,” he says.

“The personnel has changed a lot over the years, but the songs remain the same and are the stars of the show.”

There have been many memorable songs from 10cc since their first hit, including Rubber Bullets, Art for Art’s Sake, I’m Mandy Fly Me and of course the 1975 number one smash hit I’m Not In Love.

Many people do not realise the original line-up only lasted until 1976 when Kevin Godley and Lol Creme announced they were leaving to work on their own project.

Gouldman and Eric Stewart continued to rack up the hits with songs including Things We Do For Love, Good Morning Judge and the chart-topping Dreadlock Holiday.

These are the songs audiences expect to hear and Gouldman says he enjoys performing them as much today as in their heyday.

He says: “The band is fantastic and we enjoy doing it.

“There are songs we always do, but I do like to vary things a bit, so in the UK tour we’re going to do songs we haven’t done for a while.

“It’s good for the audience and good for us as well.

“Over 90 per cent of what we do is pretty much fixed but there is 10 per cent where we can turn things around.

“Even putting in that one new song can make a difference.”

Gouldman says there are no songs he gets tired of playing.

“There is no ‘just going through the motions’ or speeding up to do it quicker,” he jokes.

Gouldman is pleased to see a new generation of fans who have got to know them through modern day artists who are admirers and through playing at festival like British Summer Time in Hyde Park in July.

“The audience is usually the age of people you would expect – a middle aged crowd – but we get a lot of young people at our gigs as well,” he says.

But it is not just the UK where 10cc are still in demand. The band were in New Zealand and Europe earlier this year and are going to Iceland and possibly Japan next year.

They will be starting their next tour in Scandinavia later this month and their UK dates started in Aberdeen at the start of this month.

Gouldman, 68, wrote a string of million-selling hits as a teenager before forming 10cc, including For Your Love for The Yardbirds, Bus Stop for The Hollies and No Milk Today for Herman’s Hermits. He was recently inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in the US where he joins legends such as Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney.

But Gouldman does not live his life in the past.

He says: “I’m involved in various writing projects and doing quite a lot of other stuff as well. I put out a solo album a couple of years ago which took a year to complete on and off.”

He adds: “There are some great people around and there are some great songs, but there are a lot of songs that will be forgotten.

“I was with my son in Portugal and there was a Katy Perry record which came on which I thought was fantastic so I’m never going to dismiss modern music.”

10cc were due to be perform at the Hexagon on Tuesday, November 4, but the gig has been postponed due to illness. Organisers are hoping to reschedule the gig. For updates see www.readingarts.com.